Different But the Same
by Mark C
Summary: Kate Beckett finds someone who has a similar past to hers in an unusual source.


**Disclaimer:** All characters within are the property of ABC Studios and Marvel Comics.

**Summary:** Kate Beckett finds someone who has a similar past to hers in an unusual source.

**AN:** Many thanks go out to Tanya Reed for her exceptional betaing skills. This story takes place sometime after the _Castle_ episode _Knockdown_ and before the third season finale episode _Knockout_.

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><p>It was an overcast spring day, but a warm one, that had Peter Parker making a trip that he had planned a while back. Unfortunately, plans had a way of changing when you have to battle the likes of the Scorpion and the Vulture when you are also the webslinging hero Spider-Man. On his way to his destination, he ran into someone that he did not expect to see.<p>

"Detective Beckett?" Peter asked as he approached her.

Peter had met the Detective on a case that she and her team had been working on several months ago but as his alter ego and not himself. It was through that investigation that she and Castle found out that Peter was in fact the webslinger himself. Working that case with them, he realized that his secret would be safe with them.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" The detective asked in return.

"Probably the same thing you are doing here, Detective."

"I guess you're right. And what have I told you…"

"Sorry, I forgot," Peter replied before adding, "Kate. I'm here for my uncle."

"My mom," added Kate hesitantly, still finding it hard to talk about her mother.

From her tone, Peter knew that it was a sore subject. He could relate, so he decided not to push. He also guessed that coming to the cemetery was just as hard for her as it was for him, and he hoped that he might be able to lift her spirits, even just a bit.

"If you don't want to be alone, I could go with you. That is, if you don't mind," Peter offered.

Kate mulled the offer over in her head. If Castle were the one asking, she would let him come with her, since he knew all about her mother's case and that he had become a good friend. She did not know Peter well despite the fact that she was in on his secret. But she knew he was just being kind, and that meant something to her.

"Sure, I don't mind the company," Kate told Peter with a slight smile.

"Lead the way, milady," replied Peter, motioning the detective onward.

"You know, I think you may be hanging around Castle too much."

Peter chuckled at Kate's comment. He had been spending some time with the author lately because he was acting as a school appointed science tutor to the man's daughter, Alexis. Because he knew what kind of man Castle was, he did not mind the comparison.

They approached Johanna Beckett's grave in silence, Peter following close behind Kate. He was not a trained observer like the good detective, but he could tell that this was hard for her. It was a feeling he was all too familiar with.

"Hi, Mom," Kate said softly while she brushed off some debris from the gravestone. "I'm sorry that it's been a while, but you know how I am with work. I bumped into a friend on the way, and he wanted to come with me. He's here to see his uncle."

Kate motioned for Peter to come forward.

"Hello, Mrs. Beckett. I'm Peter Parker. I met your daughter while she was working a case with her team, and all I'll say it was an interesting experience," Peter said as he chuckled about his last statement.

Kate smiled at that memory. They didn't start off on the same page per se, but they eventually grew to respect one another.

Peter swiftly added, "Everything worked out in the end. You have a very special daughter, Mrs. Beckett, and I'll bet that you are really proud of what she has done."

To say Kate was touched by Peter's words would be an understatement. In that instance, he reminded her of Castle because he was the same way. He had always been good with words and that was probably why he was such a successful author.

She wiped a stray tear from her face and said, "I wish I could stay a little longer but I promised Peter that I would go to see his uncle. I miss you, and I love you."

Kate went up to the headstone, laid her hand on it for a moment, and turned around to let Peter know that it was time to go. He replied with a simple nod of his head and led her to his uncle.

"Hey, Uncle Ben. I would have been here sooner, but a friend needed me. Well, maybe not needed, but _I_ thought she needed someone, and you know that I can't refuse a pretty face," joked Peter, which elicited a small laugh from Kate. "Aunt May has been doing well and so has Mary Jane. Where are my manners? This is NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, and she's a friend. You can say that she is one of the few on the force that I can say that about."

"Hello, Mr. Parker. I am happy to call your nephew a friend. If I might add an amazing one at that," Kate said after Peter introduced her.

"If I had more friends like Kate, my other job would be so much easier. Perhaps more people would not think so negatively of me, like a certain ex-newspaper publisher does," Peter remarked, laughing a little bit at his last remark as he remembered a few of J. Jonah Jameson's comments. "I'll try to come back soon, Uncle Ben. Bye."

Peter and Kate left in silence. Not a word was spoken between them until they got to the cemetery entrance.

"Your uncle meant a lot to you, didn't he?" asked Kate.

"He certainly did. He was like a father to me because he and Aunt May raised me," answered Peter with a small smile, remembering back when he was younger

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your parents?"

"I don't mind at all, but do you think we can have this conversation somewhere else?"

"Sure, I'm not on call. Do you have a place in mind?"

"That I do."

Peter went with Kate over to her car, gave her directions and then was off. Their drive was not a long one. They headed to a place where Peter had spent a lot of time when he was in college, a coffee house called the _Coffee Bean_. Peter led Kate to a booth in the back so they could talk privately and then they placed their coffee orders.

When their coffee arrived, Peter answered the question about his parents. "My mom and dad died in a plane crash when I was very young, and that's how I ended up with my aunt and uncle."

"I'm sorry, Peter. I didn't mean to…" Kate apologized, thinking that it was a sore subject for him just like her mother's death was for her.

"Kate, it's all right. It's nice to talk about them because it helps me to keep their memory alive."

"I wish I was more like you in that regard. For me, it's difficult to talk about my mom, even after all these years."

"Is it the way she died?"

"In part. The investigation surrounding it makes it difficult. I still look into it from time to time with some help from Castle. His resources sure have helped."

"So, you found the one who…"

"Yes, after several years we finally found out who killed my mother. I also learned that her death was not random or anything of the sort. Someone wanted her dead and hired someone to do it. Dick Coonan was the man that murdered her. "

"Dear Lord," Peter stated, stunned at the admission, and placed a reassuring hand on Kate's. "Did you catch him?"

"Yeah, but I was forced to shoot him when the bastard took Castle hostage. There was nothing we could do to save him in order to find out who set up the hit."

"Damn."

"Sometime later, Castle and I talked to one of the detectives who investigated my mom's death, and he was immediately shot in front of us. In the end, we found out who was involved, but we don't have all the answers yet. The guy's in jail and I've been paying him a visit from time to time to see if he'll say anything."

"You know, if you ever need some muscle from a certain webslinging hero…"

That brought a much needed smile to Kate's face. "That's all right, Pete. This is something I have to do by myself."

"The offer will always be there."

"Thanks. Her case was the reason I became a cop in the first place."

Peter thought that interesting, especially with what he was about to say. "You know we're similar in that regard. The reason I became Spider-Man was because of my Uncle Ben."

Now that was a surprise to Kate, especially since she had no idea why Peter had become Spider-Man. "How so?"

"When I first got my powers…"

Kate quickly stopped him. "First got your powers? You mean you weren't born with them?"

"No, I got them at the local five and dime store."

That prompted Kate to swat at Peter's arm. Unfortunately she missed due to Peter's spider-sense warning him of the hit. Surprised that she missed, Kate gave him one of her patented glares.

"Seriously, I got them while I attended a science demonstration when I was in high school. A spider got a little too close to some radiation and became irradiated. That arachnid found its way over to me and bit me. I left the demonstration feeling sick after the bite, and it wasn't much later that I figured out that the spider had passed it's abilities over to me.

"After fully understanding my abilities, I made a costume and created my webshooters and web fluid in order to use my powers for personal gain. With the money I'd make, I could help my aunt and uncle out and use whatever cash I had left over for myself. Unfortunately, that changed rather quickly.

"I had just finished a wrestling match when a guy ran past me and made it to the nearby elevator. That man had just taken the night's receipts. A couple of cops chased him and asked me why I didn't trip him up or stop him. I told him that it wasn't my job and that I look after number one, which was me.

"As I neared home that night, I noticed several police cars by my house. Before I could get inside, an officer stopped me and I explained to him who I was and asked what happened. He told me that my Uncle Ben surprised a burglar and was shot dead. He continued to tell me that my aunt was over at the neighbour's. I then overheard that they had cornered the guy in an abandoned warehouse. I knew right away that I had to be the one to catch him.

"I took off, changed, and webswung my way over to the warehouse. With my abilities, I easily slipped inside without him knowing I was there. Keeping to the shadows, I found him and struck. He fired a couple of shots that I easily avoided. I knocked him around a bit and when I caught a glimpse of his face after he passed out, I couldn't believe what I saw. The man that had killed my uncle was the same guy that I could have stopped earlier."

This time it was Kate that grabbed a hold of Peter's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I learned an invaluable lesson that night. Uncle Ben once told me that with great power comes great responsibility, and I've lived by those words ever since."

"You know it wasn't your fault about your uncle," Kate told him.

"I know that here," he replied, pointing to his head. "But not here," Peter finished by pointing to his heart. "Plus it was one of a couple of times that I felt like killing someone."

To say Kate was astonished by Peter's admission would be an understatement. From what she had understood, Spider-Man did not kill. Even knowing the man underneath the mask, she could not believe he would do such a thing. But she understood why because of what happened to his uncle. She empathized with him as well due to her mother's case and the anger she feels towards the person behind it.

"So there was a second time?" Kate questioned.

"You bet. The Green Goblin had kidnapped Gwen Stacy, a girl I was seeing at the time, and tossed her off the George Washington Bridge. I was able to stop her fall with a webline…" Peter paused because the next part was difficult for him to say even after all the time that had passed since then. "But that wasn't enough to save her. I totally lost it after that, and I fought the Green Goblin with a fury I didn't even know I had. In the end, I couldn't kill the bastard, even though he deserved to die."

"What happened next?"

"The fight came to an end when I avoided an attack from his goblin glider, which impaled him in the chest. I thought he was dead, but I was wrong. It would be years before I learned he had not died but had developed a healing factor through use of the formula that turned him into the Goblin. That doesn't matter anymore now since he's in prison, and I hope he rots in there."

Kate now saw something that she never thought she would see, someone who had experienced loss as bad as or worse than she had. "How did you handle losing those two people?"

"With Uncle Ben, I had Aunt May, and she had me. Plus, it didn't hurt that I had the occasional criminal to let my frustrations out on. Dealing with the loss of Gwen was different though. I had friends and family but I shut them out. Luckily, Mary Jane wouldn't put up with my crap and helped me deal. That's probably one of the reasons I fell in love with her."

"That was just…" Kate was so amazed at what she learned that she had no words to say what she wanted to express.

"We all cope with loss in our own way. Some good and some bad, but as long as we have support from family and friends, we can work through the grief and carry on," Peter told her.

Kate knew that very well, especially now. Castle was certainly there for her whenever something turned up concerning her mom, and she was very grateful for that. She also had Lanie, Ryan, Esposito, and Captain Montgomery for support as well.

They then fell into a comfortable silence until Peter took a look at a clock.

"If I don't hurry, I'll be late for my appointment with Alexis," Peter mentioned as he downed what coffee was left in his mug.

"I can take you," Kate offered politely.

"I'd like that."

They both got out of the booth, and Peter was surprised by the unexpected hug he received from Kate.

"Not that I mind, but what was that for?" Peter asked.

"Just for showing me that I'm not the only one having to cope with this."

"I'm glad that you feel that way. No one should have to deal with difficult or tough things by themselves. You can also come to me, if you have to, because you know I'll listen."

"I may take you up on that sometime. We better get going before Alexis wonders what's keeping you."

Paying for their drinks, they left the _Coffee Bean_ and headed toward the Castle loft. The ride was silent, but Kate realized that not only had she found a new friend in Peter, but also that she would never have to deal with anything by herself because she had her family and her friends.

**The End**

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><p>Let me know what you thought by taking a moment to leave a review. Flames are not welcome.<p> 


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